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My first thought is "Rosemary's Baby". Granted it's a fairly short novel so there was no need to cut or trim scenes from the book. One of my unforgettable early memories was reading this book in Vietnam in one sitting (or one laying as I was in my cot and was supposed to be going to sleep). I ended up reading all through the night and into the morning. I was quite exhilirated by morning and spent that whole day in a fog, not having slept at all. I couldn't wait to see the movie. Unfortunately it was mid 1968 and I wasn't going home till the end of the year when the movie would be gone from theatres. Somehow I caught it somewhere during that 30 day leave after Nam and was not disappointed.
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Sorry, double post.
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Sorry, triple post. Why is the website freezing when I try to post the message?
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Lord of the Rings for me. Although I wasn't happy with all of the changes, I think Jackson got far, far more things right than he did wrong, whether it be casting, music, imagery, etc. Especially impressive considering many considered the series unfilmable. Of the three, Fellowship of the Ring is my favorite, but I eagerly anticipated each new release, and after seeing the film, made plans to see it again.
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Quite subjective, as with all these things. However, I think it comes down to your definition of "best". For me, a great adaptation isn't how closely they stuck to the book or play, but how well they took that source material and translated it to the medium of film. How cinematic is the material? Often, alterations must be made for the medium, to provide a good film based on a book or play. Of course, if they completely alter the book's tone or basic story, then that's just as bad as taking a book or play and making a non-cinematic film.
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These are just some favorites – the first that came to mind:
Films of Plays:
The Ruling Class
A Streetcar Named Desire
A Long Day’s Journey into Night
Gaslight (both versions)
Oliver
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
Blithe Spirit
The Importance of Being Earnest
Films of Novels:
The Big Sleep
The Maltese Falcon
Women in Love
The Haunting
Rebecca
Tom Jones
The Leopard
Gone With the Wind
Careful He Might Hear You
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First, yes, Horton Foote's screenplay as well as everything else, including Elmer Bernstein's magical music, makes the filmed version of Harper Lee's wonderful "To Kill A Mockingbird" almost perfect.
Bryan Forbes' filmed version of James Clavell's "King Rat" is terrific, as is John Barry's great score.
I remain partial to The American Film Theatre's version of Harold Pinter's great "The Homecoming," which I discussed elsewhere at great length.
And I think Alan Parker did a great job with the Lloyd Webber/Rice "Evita."
But I hope NO ONE cites Mike Nichol's filmed version of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virgihia Woolf," which I find barely watchable. But I had seen it on stage with 2 fine casts in the 1960s as well as owning the complete play on LP with the great Uta Hagen and Arthur Hill, who made Liz and Dick look like a joke casting!
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Re: Sorry, triple post. Why is the website freezing when I try to post the message?
Hit "Post Message" and then just wait, or go to another page, it's sent. I don't know why it's slow, it just is.
Right, Rory. Despite the delays (which can be maddening) it's better to wait (but try to save it if it's long just in case it doesn't hit). But some members seem to be so befuddled that they re-post and re-post AGAIN, unaware the original posting went through (most of the time they do).
Look at OnyaBirri below. Talk about befuddlement!
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Posted: |
Nov 25, 2013 - 1:46 PM
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By: |
Regie
(Member)
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Thanks for the contributions, everybody. Some interesting adaptations here and "The Guardian" article was very good.
I wanted to try and flesh out some fundamental ideas about adaptation:
1. Is a film 'faithful' to a book or a play, and if so HOW?
2. Is it necessary to BE 'faithful' when one text becomes another one?
3. Can a new text, especially one which uses music so significantly, actually be a true adaptation?
I think of "Gone With The Wind", but have never read Mitchell's original. It would be impossible to render all the plot machinations and characters in a massive tome into a single, 3 hour plus film. Creative decisions have to be made about what exactly the film is going to be. For me, "GWTW" is a grand, mass entertainment which 'celebrated' the power of Selznick and MGM and his stars just as much as represented a particular time in American history. Consider the opening - the bells on the word "The Selznick Studios" and then the sweeping introduction: this signalled the cache and prestige of the production and, for me, it drew attention to itself. The publicity 'machine' behind the film also supported that view. What then of Mitchell's original? Cukor was sacked because he was thought to have skewed the picture towards Scarlett and away from Rhett? The very fact of a Director of a film 'skewing' a narrative suggests something far less than a 'faithful' adaptation. And I didn't think the film brought out the vile narcissism of Scarlett, so in that sense "GWTW" was every bit a grand romance as anything else!! Was that what Mitchell intended?
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